Oli Metcalfe
Production Designer & Lighting Director
“When it was evaluated for the 2nd Law Tour in 2012, it was deemed untenable, but the band and management really wanted to see this become an ’in the round’ show this year. There was a very long list of challenges, most of which related to the drone deployment and standing area for their launch. The other main constraint was the show’s infrastructure, and how this would be placed over the stage in close proximity to the stage equipment. I faced huge challenges with Brilliant Staging on providing enough surface area in the air for the flight crew to work from and launch their flying machines from...Article continues.

Bumping this because when I've been mentioning these gigs of late, a lot of people are asking if these drones have some form of propulsion or have elevation, power, speed and all of that dictated by AI. So I figured I'd ask.

They are helium filled, so in theory they are weight neutral and require only small fans to produce the force required for the different axis of movement. Power I would imagine is a Lithium Ion battery of some variety. The AI is more of a live decision making based on a pre determined flight path with realtime tracking from 40+ cameras around the arena.

Probably best making any further chat in the "Drones Stage Set Up" thread, this is posted here purely as a Muse in the Media link.

They had a lot of little fans all over them, and you could hear them as they flew by.

I don't think there was really anything AI about them at all. They had a program that they followed, and sensors around the arena, and the operator had a kill switch that would send them back to the base if they weren't acting right. Provided they didn't lose buoyancy first.